1
of
1
The Gulag Archipelago
(Abridged edition)
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 33,887 ratings, 2,528 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2500
$3000
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY
Found a better price? Request a price match
The Gulag Archipelago
$2500
$3000
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is a monumental work that provides a harrowing account of the Soviet Union's labour camp system. Set against a vast canvas of camps, prisons, transit centres, and secret police, the narrative unfolds the grim realities of informers, spies, and interrogators while simultaneously celebrating instances of everyday heroism. This literary masterpiece, based on the testimony of approximately 200 survivors, as well as Solzhenitsynβs own eleven-year ordeal in labour camps and exile, delves into the profound depths of human suffering and resilience.
With a new foreword by Jordan B. Peterson, this edition of The Gulag Archipelago has been compiled into one volume at the author's request and with his full co-operation. It is a meticulously researched document, demonstrating immense literary and imaginative power. Via compelling storytelling, Solzhenitsyn explores the lives of those who dared to oppose Stalin's oppressive regime, often finding that their survival hinged not on hope but on the depths of despair they experienced.
As Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing notes, "It helped to bring down an empire. Its importance can hardly be exaggerated." The book indeed played a crucial role in unveiling the terrifying truth about the Soviet regime and helped shape the world as we know it today.
"Solzhenitsyn's masterpiece... The Gulag Archipelago helped create the world we live in today," reflects Anne Applebaum, underscoring the global impact and historical significance of Solzhenitsynβs work.
This officially approved abridgement encapsulates the essence of the original three volumes, making Solzhenitsyn's riveting and transformational journey accessible to a broader audience. It stands as an enduring testament to the human spirit's triumph over tyranny and a crucial piece of literature that continues to resonate with readers worldwide.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
To live now and not to know this work is to be a kind of historical fool missing a crucial part of the consciousness of the age, according to the Guardian. The London Magazine describes it as the ferocious testimony of a man of genius. Sunday Telegraph notes its value is in the harsh roar of warning it communicates. The Observer hails the author as a towering figure who has achieved the impossible. The New Yorker asserts it is impossible to name a book that had a greater effect on the political and moral consciousness of the late twentieth century.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781784871512
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 01 November 2018
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Vintage Classics
Contributors:
- Introduction by Jordan Peterson
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 36.0mm
Width: 130.0mm
Height: 197.0mm
Weight: 396g
Pages: 576
Collections
2025 Best Sellers
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Best Sellers at Book Hero
Best Selling Books
Biography & Memoir
Education & Reference
History & Archaeology
History & Military
In Stock Books
New Zealand's Best Selling Books
Non-Fiction
Penguin Books
Political Biographies
Politics & Current Affairs
Russian & Soviet History
About the Author
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was born in 1918 and grew up in Rostov-on-Don. He graduated in Physics and Mathematics from Rostov University and studied Literature by correspondence course at Moscow University. In World War II he fought as an artillery officer, attaining the rank of captain. In 1945, however, after making derogatory remarks about Stalin in a letter, he was arrested and summarily sentenced to eight years in forced labour camps, followed by internal exile. In 1957 he formally rehabilitated, and settled down to teaching and writing, in Ryazan and Moscow. The publication of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich in Novy Mir in 1962 was followed by publication, in the West, of his novels Cancer Ward and The First Circle. In 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and in 1974 his citizenship was revoked and he was expelled from the Soviet Union. He settled in Vermont and worked on his great historical cycle The Red Wheel. In 1990, with the fall of Soviet Communism, his citizenship was restored and four years later he returned to settle in Russia. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn died in August 2008.
Also by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
View all-
The Gulag Archipelago
A 50th anniversary edition of the book that brought down the Soviet Union, now with an introduction from Solzhenitsyn's widow detailing the dramatic story of its publication. The Gulag Archipelago helped to bring down an empire. Its importance can hardly be exaggerated. β Doris Lessing, Sunday Telegraph With a new introduction by Natalia Solzhenitsyn. A vast canvas of camps, prisons,...Hardback$6300Elsewhere:$6999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich: Popular Penguins
This brutal glimpse of Russia under Stalin shocked the world when it first appeared. Discover the importance of a piece of bread or an extra bowl of soup, the incredible luxury of a book, and the ingenious possibilities of simple items like a nail, a piece of string, or a single match in a time where survival is all. Enter...Paperback$1599Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Warning to the West
Solzhenitsyn's polemical speeches serve as a primer for understanding the moral and political vision of the Nobel Prize winner. 'Can one part of humanity learn from the bitter experience of another or can it not? Is it possible or impossible to warn someone of danger... to assess soberly the worldwide menace that threatens to swallow the whole world? I was...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956
The official, one-volume edition, authorised by Solzhenitsyn "BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE 20th CENTURY" β Time The Nobel Prize winner's towering masterpiece of world literature and a landmark of Russian history, the searing record of four decades of terror and oppression, in one abridged volume (authorised by the author). Features a new foreword by Anne Applebaum. "It is impossible to...Paperback$5300Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
The Gulag Archipelago
BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE 20TH CENTURY. --Time Volume 1 of the gripping epic masterpiece, this foundational work of Soviet history is Solzhenitsyn's chilling report of his arrest and interrogation, which exposed to the world the vast bureaucracy of secret police and political repression that haunted Soviet society. Features a new foreword by Anne Applebaum. "The greatest and most powerful...Paperback$6000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
The Gulag Archipelago
It helped to bring down an empire. Its importance can hardly be exaggerated - Doris Lessing, Sunday Telegraph The Gulag Archipelago is Solzhenitsyn's masterwork, a vast canvas of camps, prisons, transit centres, and secret police, of informers and spies and interrogators and also of heroism, a Stalinist anti-world at the heart of the Soviet Union where the key to survival...PaperbackSold Out
More from Biography & Memoir
View all-
New ReleaseDogs, Boys and Other Things I've Cried About
From the social media superstar behind @SimonSits, Isabel Klee--known for her heartwarming tales of dog rescue--comes an utterly winning memoir about a twentysomething woman's search for true love in New York City and the dogs who helped her find it. A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Stakes
Read our interview with author Noelle McCarthy! A darkly funny, sparkling follow-up to the authorβs bestselling memoirΒ Grand. You have to invite him in. You have to want the vampireβs badness in the house with you. Growing up in Catholic Ireland, Noelle McCarthy is captivated by Bram StokerβsΒ Dracula. The vampire is a risk-free fantasy, a suave alternative to the fraught realities...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseFamesick
Chronicling the tumultuous decade between the premiere of Girls to her 2021 shotgunΒ wedding (minus the baby, because she has no uterus), Lena Dunham takes us through herΒ journey with her trademark mix of humor, unsparing honesty, and keen eye for detail. We peek behind the scenes - of her work, her family, her relationships, and her battle to reclaim her body...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseBuilt for This
Raised among strong women, butcher's benches, and hard ideas about what men are meant to be, Brad Poulter grows up knowing he's different long before he has the words for it. But in late '90s small-town New Zealand, 'different' isn't discussed, it's managed. Joining the Royal New Zealand Navy offers escape, certainty, and belonging. The rules are clear, the uniform...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Even the Good Girls Will Cry
Thanks to a thrown beer bottle and a fan letter to a P.O. box, Melissa Auf der Maur's first band scored an opening slot for the Smashing Pumpkins in her bohemian home town, Montreal. Sensing Melissa's talent, Billy Corgan recommended her to Courtney Love. Whisked from her local scene, Melissa joined Hole just after the deaths of Kurt Cobain and...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseAn Ocean and a Day
An utterly riveting, moving and poignant memoir of grief and loss that will speak to anyone who's ever lost someone they love. An Ocean and a Day is Hannah Richell's personal account of losing her husband, Matt, in a surfing accident on Tamarama beach in 2014. It is the story of the grief journey she travelled over the first two...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
A Place to Stand
A Place to Stand by Clare Ward is a profound memoir that delves into the life of a country doctor living and working in the Hokianga Harbour area in the far north of Aotearoa New Zealand. This region is sparsely populated and poses numerous health challenges. This thoughtful account details Clareβs thirty-year career, highlighting the people she works with and...Hardback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips early August -
New ReleaseRule of Lies
Written with all the pace and energy of a John Grisham novel β¦ An incredible true story and a great read! BILL BROWDER, author of Red Notice and Freezing Order An American lawyerβs brilliant, propulsive story of witnessing and playing a part in the transformation of Russia under Yeltsin and Putin. A true tale of fascinating personalities, criminal intrigue, harrowing...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseRory
TheΒ New York TimesΒ bestseller The #1Β Irish TimesΒ bestseller The definitive biography of Rory McIlroy, the most important, popular and confounding player of the post-Tiger era. Rory McIlroy contains multitudes. The child of a working-class family from a small town in a war-torn homeland now commutes to work in his own private jet and counts billionaires as confidants. He can overwhelm a golf...Paperback$3699Elsewhere:$4199Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseTe Kaikaukau | The Swimmer
Novelist, memoirist and playwright Witi Ihimaera β author of Pounamu, Pounamu and The Whale Rider β decided, at the age of eighty, to dive back into the water and spend a year full-time at Te WΔnanga Takiura, immersing himself in his own language, in te reo MΔori. This book tells the story of this kaikaukau, this swimmer, and his year...Paperback$3500Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThis Is Me: A Reckoning
This is a searingly honest and moving memoir from double Golden Globe-nominatedactress Hayden Panettiere. Hayden Panettiere has been in front of the camera since before she could talk. She roseto stardom typecasted as Hollywood's blonde girl next door. As a young celebrity,naysayers were certain she would crash and burn. Not one to disappoint, she did.Hayden Panettiere's irreverent memoir satisfies our...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseBeyond Life and Death
From martial arts icon and global film star Jet Li comes a revelatory, profound and inspiring guide to self-mastery and spiritual wisdom, distilled into 10 essential life lessons. Martial arts legend and international movie star Jet Li distils 10 powerful insights from his iconic career, his personal life and philosophies, and his 30-year Buddhist practice. Jet Li's story defies legend....Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
